Motor Awards 2019: Value Car of the Year
Proof a little can go a very long way
Voting in The Sunday Times Motor Awards 2019 has closed. The winners will be announced on Driving.co.uk in October.
VOTING is open in the second Sunday Times Motor Awards sponsored by Bridgestone and over the weeks since launch we’ve be giving you the details of each of the shortlisted entries in each category.
Our motoring writers whittled down the long lists of their favourite cars on sale this year to produce the final nominees, but most of the winners will be decided by you. Even better, by voting you could win a seven-night holiday for two in Thailand.
Below are the Value Car of the Year contenders with the reasons behind their nomination. When you’ve found your favourite, be sure to click through to vote for it — the winner will be the one that receives the most support from our readers.
Choose from the Dacia Duster, Kia Picanto, Skoda Citigo, Suzuki Jimny and Vauxhall Combo Life.
Our panel of experts were looking for cars that offered the best bang for your buck, and showed you don’t need to settle for a “that’ll do” motor if you’re buying on a budget.
The winners of the 2019 Sunday Times Motor Awards, including the coveted Sunday Times Car of the Year and Jeremy Clarkson’s Car of the Year, will be announced at a star-studded event in October.
Dacia Duster
There’s a new Duster doing the rounds but happily it’s not all that different in spirit to the original, hard-working model. The company has kept the same basic rough n’tough look, fitted the interior with a few more creature comforts and improved the driving experience, but kept the prices decidedly simple. When you can pick up a high end Duster, with kit including a reversing camera and cruise control, for around £14,000, it had to make the shortlist.
Kia Picanto
Here’s a small and (almost) perfectly formed car that is modestly good fun to drive, extremely frugal to run and comes with the Brucie-bonus of a seven-year warranty. Opt for the top-spec GT Line trim, and it even looks the part.
Skoda Citigo
The Citigo is Skoda’s version of the Volkswagen Up! and Seat Mii. It gets our vote because it’s a good value package backed up by some of the most helpful dealers you could hope to meet (just ask any Skoda owner).
Suzuki Jimny
It might be relatively new to the road but there’s a more pertinent reason why you might not see too many Jimnys about the place, aside from the fact that they’re tiny in size: they’re hidden from view by small crowds of people cooing at its adorable, pocket looks. And once they find out how affordable it is, they’re completely sold on the Jimny.
Read the review
Go to the voting page
Vauxhall Combo Life
The Combo isn’t about turning heads, dropping car names at your kid’s birthday party or racing other cars away from traffic lights. It’s here to ferry a driver and up to six passengers from A to B in comfort and for precious little money. Job done.
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